Wherein We Elect Our Favourite Novels of 1964

I've read nothing! I started the Lispector but it was a bit too livejournal for me.

Thanks for including the correct option. :)

Lispector is really good imo (and far stranger than just some form of Brazilian modernism), the reissues and further translations of her books has been a good thing to lap up in the last few years.

Last Exit To Brooklyn by Hubert Selby Jr.
Nova Express by William S. Burroughs
Pop. 1280 by Jim Thompson
Berg by Ann Quin
The Ravishing Of Lol Stein by Marguerite Duras
Dancing Lessons For The Advanced In Age by Bohumil Hrabal
The Face Of Another by Kobo Abe
The Passion According To G.H. by Clarice Lispector

Oh and:

A Personal Matter by Kenzaburō Ōe

Going for Hubert Selby, he is probably the most underrated American writer. Seen as either cult or a beat writer, or transgressive. Not sure the films have helped either whereas in his books there is a feeling for people on the margins which draws me to them.

passion according to gh followed by idk last exit to brooklyn

Alberto Angelo narrowly over arrow of god & last exit - lots here I really need to get to

Didn't enjoy a personal matter, didn't finish berg. That leaves the Dahl which I ain't voting for.

Maybe Pop. 1280 but probably Little Big Man

But not Herzog

Nova Express, Burning World and Pop. 1280 not top-drawer for their respective writers, which leaves Selby and Dahl to vote for - both controversial, but only one of which was the subject of an obscenity trial in the UK. Went for the one that wasn't in the end but it was close, and quite frankly difficult to make a comparison between the two anyway.

HARRIET THE SPY

Okay, so, as I said, this is between Albert Angelo and Berg. The fact that the Lispector is here definitely throws a spanner in the works because that book is amazing (and another year good old Dorky Archives could win for me) but nah, it's between these two. And it is hard. But I feel like Quin's writing still has a lot of growth to do from here (I mean, this is her debut so y'know that's not a huge diss) - Berg is very much still in the Freudian mode, yr Hamletty Oedipal farce. Albert Angelo on the other hand is Johnson laying out his own fierce manifesto for what writing should be. Fuck all this lying indeed.

Also my cat is named after Albert, I couldn't not vote for my cat.

For me this would be between "Herzog", "Little Big Man", and I guess "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory".

Harriet the Spy vs. The Pushcart War, such a hard decision.

think it goes to duras by a hair for me, but between g.h./lol stein/how it is/berg/the titles on here i would still like to read, pretty incredible year.

Feel like I should vote for Last Exit to Brooklyn but The Pushcart War is amazing, definitely the most radical novel I read for elementary school.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Can't remember, did I vote for Little Big Man? I certainly should have.

Wouldn't have bet on this outcome!

Wherein We Elect Our Favourite Novels of 1965

I didn’t end up voting for it, but I approve of the winner

I'd never even heard of the winner before this poll. Okay then lads.

Also looks like either wins or I forgot to actually click the poll button (I'm sure I did but my brain is such a mess I might have spent ages typing and no time doing the click).